Gallery: Olafur Eliasson to judge The Space/WIRED Creative Fellowship

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Joining WIRED Editor David Rowan and launch CEO of The Space Ruth Mackenzie CBE, Eliasson will help decide which three emerging digital artists will be awarded a share of £100,000, which will go towards creating their design. "I'm interested in art in all its languages, and I see the uniqueness of the digital. It has a very surprising capacity," says Eliasson, the man behind the The Weather Project, the epic scene of Sun and fog that hung in the Tate Modern in 2004 and attracted two million visitors.

He adds that he's looking forward to working with The Space and WIRED, two organisations that focus on the future. "I like the fact that maybe there is more stability in looking ahead, rather than being retrospective and looking to the past," he adds.

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Announced at last year's WIRED 2014 conference, the Creative Fellows programme is a new arm of the WIRED Innovation Fellowship, which last year saw 12 pioneers in the fields of science, technology, design, culture and business recognised. The Creative Fellowship focuses on those working within any creative industry and no formal training or qualifications are required. Each of the three winners will receive £30,000, with an additional budget allocated for training and mentorship.

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When judging the candidates, Eliasson will be looking for a piece of work that focuses not just on reflecting our digital age, but critiquing it. "There's a general overexposure on how to do digital things -- how to make a programme for this and that. I'm interested in why you are programming something like that.

What is the consequence of changing something in the programme?"

Eliasson will be looking for artists and ideas that focus on the how and the why behind a concept.

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He suggests that the why is often lost as a result of the commodification of digital media. "The layer beneath the skill is a very weak part. It worries me because clearly it is about money -- if people start asking why, they will stop spending money."

"We have this overdeveloped digital toolbox where we can do anything, and most programmers live and breathe and think in this toolbox. Very few are capable of stepping out of the toolbox."

He explains that a work of art is great because it goes the extra mile to help "reflect or mirror in you a not yet verbalised emotion or need you have". "You might not know it, but it reflects something you were working on getting to terms with. It feels like the work of art is seeing you, expressing exactly how you feel. That gives us a sense of interdependence and creates an inclusive experience."

Eliasson believes that as the digital world depends on connectivity it has great potential for creative experiences: "Digital art is amazing with regard to the potential it has, because it is already vibrant and connected."

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Anyone, anywhere in the world can apply for The Space/WIRED Creative Fellowship before the 1 March, 2015 deadline, with winning entries to be announced later in the year. Their finished works will be unveiled at WIRED 2015, taking place in October.

Application details and terms and conditions can be found athere or by emailing creativefellows@thespace.org.